Three Dead In Fire At Retirement Home In Siberia

Russian authorities say at least three people have been killed in a fire in a retirement home in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

The Investigative Committee said 34 people were evacuated from the building on August 28.

The fire may have started in a building next door and spread to the retirement home, investigators said in a statement.

In recent years, devastating fires have killed hundreds of people at retirement homes and other state facilities in Russia, such as drug treatment centers and orphanages.

Investigators often blame lax enforcement of safety regulations.

Death rates from fires are substantially higher in Russia than in many Western countries.

According to the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services, there were 10,068 fire deaths in Russia in 2014 and 3,275 in the United States, whose population is roughly twice that of Russia.

With reporting by Interfax and AP

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